Linguists and other animals

Book reviewed in this article:
Joan Dunayer, Animal Equality: Language and Liberation     

试论韩非文章的语言特点

韩非是先秦诸子散文中四大杰出的代表人物之一 ,他继荀子之后 ,发展完善了我国散文文体 ,并以犀利峻峭的文风把论辩类文章推向极致。文学的第一要素是语言 ,韩非在语言运用上有准确性、生动性、形象性和音乐性等突出的特点。     

A sociolinguistic application of Bakhtin's authoritative and internally persuasive discourse

Through the use of two central Bakhtinian concepts, authoritative and internally persuasive discourse (word), this paper examines the tension between the ideology of linguistic hegemony as a source of power in the Greek public sphere and the condition of language shift faced by the Albanian‐speaking communities of modern Greece. I argue here that a cautious application of these two notions, which are relevant to linguistic ideology, can reveal crucial aspects of two processes: that of subordination to and that of questioning of the dominant linguistic ideology by local Albanian‐speaking communities. Thus, in language shift contexts, it is possible that no simple relations obtain that place social agents in unquestionable and easily predictable positions. Such an approach proves useful for the sociolinguistic study of threatened language communities.     

孔子学院的发展现状、问题及趋势

孔子学院是以教授汉语和传播中国文化为宗旨的非营利的公益机构，是海外朋友学习汉语了解中国的窗口，也是学习借鉴不同文化、促进多元文化交流发展而构建和谐世界的平台。作为汉语国际推广的龙头产品，孔子学院的建设已经初具规模，发展的势头引人瞩目。本文谨就孔子学院的发展现状、存在问题以及未来的趋势作一概括性的阐述和分析。     

语言禁忌现象的社会语言学考察

语言禁忌是一种常见的社会语言现象,渗透到社会生活的方方面面。汉语语言文字的特点对语言禁忌的发展产生了独特的影响,中国的文学传统进一步强化了语言魔力在人们心目中的影响。语言禁忌反映了人们对语言符号功能的认识,大脑的联想机制强化了汉语中以谐音为主要联想基础的语言禁忌的形成。在跨文化交际过程中,语言禁忌的问题往往会成为影响交际顺利进行的一个重要因素。     

略论命名与语言、民俗、文化及其它学科的关系

命名与语言、民俗、文化及其它学科之间,均有非常密切的关系。通过对命名学的研究,可以使人们科学地利用命名和有关名称,在人类生活的诸多方面也会产生重要的指导意义。     

Do You Speak English? Language Barriers in Child Protection Social Work with Minority Ethnic Families

This paper critically evaluates research and literature on childprotection social work practice with minority ethnic familieswho speak little or no English. Though the focus is on childprotection, many of the themes raised should be transferableacross to other areas and disciplines. Specifically, the paperfocuses on the limitations and difficulties of using professionalinterpreters in child protection work and covers themes likethe availability of interpreters, the role of interpreters,suitability of interpreters, the interpretation of particularwords and phrases, and manipulating the interpreting process.The paper then moves on to address the important but often neglectedarea of using children as interpreters, and ends by consideringthe broader issue of how language barriers can exacerbate discriminationagainst minority ethnic families.     

The Chinese-speaking Muslims (Dungans) of Central Asia: A Case of Multiple Identities in a Changing Context

Chinese-speaking Muslims, called Dungans in Central Asia and Huizu in China, were forced to migrate to present-day Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan at the end of the nineteenth century. They reconstructed their identity through interrelations with local populations and the soviet categorisation of nationality. But after 1991, their status has being gradually destabilised owing to the changes in economic, social and political rules as well as citizenship regulations in these countries. They have to readapt to the new situation created by the independence of the three former Soviet Republics, which has challenged their unity.     

Unexpected but authentic use of an ethnically–marked dialect

Recent work on language crossing in the U.S. has examined the temporary appropriation of African American Vernacular English by white youth in an effort to participate in the current popularity and prestige of hip–hop culture, or in order to highlight racial boundaries. While such verbal behavior probably encompasses most white use of AAVE, it is not the only way in which whites (or other non–blacks) can use the variety. This paper presents a case study of the language of a 23 year old white female who makes consistent use of many distinctive linguistic features associated with AAVE. I argue that the interaction of ideologies of race, class, localness and language allow her to be considered an ingroup member despite her biographical race. This suggests that there is a tension between academic linguistic theory and actual speaker practice in assigning authenticity to individuals, and I conclude that language ideologies and other forms of qualitative evidence should be taken into account by sociolinguists looking at the link between language and race.